


The Best Soy Latte You've Ever Had (and me)

by palateens



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Song Lyrics, Twitter, YouTube, totally not a songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-20
Updated: 2017-02-20
Packaged: 2018-09-25 18:13:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9837113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/palateens/pseuds/palateens
Summary: The video is fifteen minutes long, but it’s this emotional roller coaster for him. It’s entertaining yet he feels guilty, as if he’s stumbled upon a well-kept secret (and in a way, he has). The guilt, however, doesn’t stop him from clicking on the channel’s link.orThe one where "Goodbye for the Summer" didn't happen and Holster found a way to get over Ransom.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [the_one_that_fell](https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_one_that_fell/gifts).



Adam met Justin on a Tuesday before their Frog year at Samwell. He preferred calling it his Frog year because he was going on twenty-one and didn’t feel like a freshman. They had clicked almost immediately; they understood each other on an implicit level. Justin held his own when Adam was too hyped up about this or that. Adam learned and worked with Justin’s anxiety better than most people. They were Ransom and Holster, the best D-man team in the ECAC, and arguably the entire NCAA. They spent their entire college careers together, and Adam would have to be an idiot not to realize how fucking ‘swawesome Justin is. He’d be even dumber not to know that he fell in love with Justin one the third Friday of November their sophomore year. He remembers because Ransom was complaining about ghosts on Friday the 13th and Holster laughed so hard milk came out; he’d realized that if he could be by Justin’s side forever, that would be perfect.

But this isn’t a love story, not theirs at least.

Holster wasn’t a stranger to unrequited feelings. He knew that just because they were both bisexual didn’t mean that Ransom would ever see him as more than a friend. Ransom shook off the way they always seemed to make out when they were drunk, and the way they relied on each other for everything. Which Holster respected, until the end of their Junior year. It wasn’t anything significant. They were talking about who was getting captain after Jack (as they had done many times before) and Justin was arguing that Holster was better at making speeches. But the way he said it was pragmatic; he didn’t say it like a compliment and he didn’t look at Holster the that Holster knew he looked at Ransom. It all sort of clicked, as if his college life flashed before his eyes. Every kiss, every hand job, every cuddle session meant something completely different to the two of them. It wasn’t that Justin didn’t care about him. It’s that Holster had let himself slip so far that he couldn’t see how often he justified things at the expense of his own feelings.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom

Sometimes waking up is the hardest part. 

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                              

 @Holsom <333

He decided not to say anything before the game, or after they lost. He didn’t speak up while finals were in full swing and Ransom was in coral reef mode. Then they both became captains, and Holster knew he couldn’t go an entire year pretending everything was fine.

“I think we should stop,” he speaks up the day before Bitty’s birthday. They were trudging down to the kitchen for coffee and breakfast.

“I need caffeine,” Ransom grumbles as he defiantly grabs a mug.

“Not that,” Holster waves him off.

“At least let me pour my coffee first.” Ransom makes a pot, taking a big sip once his is at his preferred one hundred to one hundred twenty-degree temperature range, “ok what are we stopping?”

“Ok, maybe stop’s the wrong word but bro,” Holster revises. “We’re best friends.”

“Yea?”

“Best friends don’t do the shit we do,” he gestures between them.

Ransom’s mouth hangs open slightly, the way it does when he’s combing through massive amounts of information. He takes another sip of coffee before responding. “You were fine with it before, what changed?”

“Honestly, you’re hands down my favorite person ever,” Holster offers.

“Same, Holtzy,” Ransom interrupts.

“No don’t be nice,” he grunts. “Ok it’s like…we’re in _He’s Just Not That into You_ and I always assumed we were Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long. But I realized we’re probably closer to Jennifer Connelly and Bradley Cooper.”

“Dude seriously,” Ransom sits back in his chair, puffing a large breath out. “I had no idea. Fuck, I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Holster insists. “But I can’t in good conscious keep doing this when I know…you’re not into me like that.”

“I completely understand.” He offers a sympathetic smile. “We can still cuddle, though, right?”

“Bro do you even need to ask? We’re not animals.”

The transition isn’t awkward, contrary to what Holster thought might happen. Ransom is chill about it. And if Ransom finds someone to hook up with at the last kegster of the year, he’s nice enough not to take that person up to their room. They go to Niagara Falls at the start of the summer, as they do every year. They drop off Holster’s stuff in Buffalo, saying quick hellos to his family before heading up to Canada. Holster spends a few days with Ransom’s family before bidding his good byes.

“You could stay longer y’know?” Ransom points out as they’re hugging in his driveway.

“I know,” Holster admits, “but I can’t remember what it’s like to not be with you. I think I need some time.”

Ransom nods solemnly, “don’t cut me out, please.”

“Never in a hundred million years would I do that,” he swears. “You’ll be sick of my texts before you know it. You’re my best friend, Rans. I promise we’ll be fine.”

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                          

If you feel just like a tourist in the city you were born then it’s time to go

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                               

@Holsom Sometimes the best intentions are in need of redemption.

And they are fine. They slip back into their routine quite easily. However, Holster notices quickly how much Ransom had occupied his life. He doesn’t know how to operate without him, but he needs to try. He has his sisters to chirp, to watch movies, and to generally mess with. He gets on a YouTube binge and decides that maybe he’ll learn something new like how to do drag makeup or how to bake a pie. Bitty would probably be proud of him if he came back and could competently help in the kitchen.

The idea that he could find Bitty’s blog doesn’t occur to him, since he and Ransom tried in vain most of their sophomore year. He finds it the first week of June, after going on a watching binge of different fruit fillings. There’s a grainy thumbnail with peaches posed very artfully for what looks like the Haus kitchen. He watches in rapture. Bitty’s great at teaching, Holster notes. At the beginning, there’s some talk about how he finally got new curtains up and don’t they look nice y’all? Holster chuckles, because it’s such a Bitty thing to say.  

The video is fifteen minutes long, but it’s this emotional roller coaster for him. It’s entertaining yet he feels guilty, as if he’s stumbled upon a well-kept secret (and in a way, he has). The guilt, however, doesn’t stop him from clicking on the channel’s link. It doesn’t stop him from jumping around to a few interesting titles (about double mint fudge and latticing) before starting at the very beginning. Holster gushes at the sight of high school Bitty awkwardly introducing himself and the channel. He watches Bitty talk about baking and school. He gets to see him check in before his first hockey game, and right after. The joy in Bitty’s eyes reminds him how amazing playing in Juniors had felt at the time.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                              

Hey pretty stranger.  I think you look cute.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                               

Can I get your number? I wanna know you.

 **Justin Oluransi** @Ranser                                                                                                                                        

 @Holsom Bro. Deets. NOW.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                        

@Ranser A gentlemen doesn’t kiss and tell.

 **Justin Oluransi** @Ranser                                                                                                                                          

@Holsom :((((((

He binges watches Bitty for what feels like months, but is actually closer to a week. When he gets to freshman year he almost stops because he was there for that and what if Eric (that’s what Holster calls vlog Bitty, the guy who pours his soul into this channel) said things Holster wasn’t meant to hear? But the ache that resided in his chest since he got back from Canada and realized he’d be spending a summer with his family (and no one else) has subsided with these videos.

Holster laughs at Bitty’s first impression of the team, and his chirps at Jack. He sees Eric grow even more into himself over the course of a year. He watches Bitty working to steady his breath as he explains checks, and how he got checked during the playoffs. His mind reels. He’s shouting in the middle of his bedroom at four in the morning because it wasn’t just some check. It wasn’t this rando who was a casualty of the game. It was his friend, this guy who he’s watched become into a ‘swawesome person and deal with so much shit that he didn’t deserve.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom 

In need of time machine to go retroactively kick ass. Willing to pay top dollar.

He gets angry shouts from his mom and his sisters, so he sighs and retires for the night (or morning). He wakes up around noon, grabbing his laptop for a change of scenery. He eats captain crunch in the living room, hooking up his laptop to the television and cues up the next video. He’s lucky that it’s a Wednesday and his family all have places to be.

Sophomore year for Eric is too fucking intense. He falls in love with someone (it’s totally fucking Jack).

“He’s not straight!” Holster screams at the television.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom

Fuck heterosexuality being the default.

 **Shitty Knight** @BeShittyKnight                                                                                                                                       

@Holsom A-fucking-men

 **Larissa Duan** @Duanwithyourshit                                                                                                                          

 @Holsom @BeShittyKnight don’t you mean A-fucking-women?

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                        

@Duanwithyourshit You’re watching Legally Blonde without me again, aren’t you?!

 **Larissa Duan** @Duanwithyourshit                                                                                                                              

 @Holsom …maybe

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                       

@Duanwithyourshit @NurseyRhymes I’m in the market for a new movie buddy. Interested?

 **Derek Nurse** @NurseyRhymes                                                                                                                              

@Holsom Chyeah

 “Have you ever overheard something you weren’t supposed to hear?” Bitty starts one video. He’s wearing the outfit he wore at Epikegster. Holster knows he’s in for a wild fucking ride. Maybe Bitty makes connects the dots, maybe he doesn’t, but Holster does.

 _Jack really wasn’t a relationships kind of guy_. Holster swears up and down for twenty minutes straight. There’s so much shit there that Jack, ever the liberal arts guy, would say needs to be unpackaged. Except Jack isn’t here…and apparently, he was in deep with Parse at one point. Sure, Holster had heard his share of rumors, but this is different. He spends the rest of the day reading circa 2010 fanfics and may or may not write ten thousand words over the next two days about how the Epikegster could have gone down instead. He decides not to post anything even though his life has basically become a circus and he could single handedly reignite a ship.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                           

Ever overheard something you weren’t supposed to hear?

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                        

@Holsom ????

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                                 

Try being told the secrets of the universe

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                        

Scratch that, try knowing the best fucking story ever and no one can hear it. EVER.

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                        

@Holsom Hun, I’m sure there’s /someone/ you could tell. Y’all can’t keep shit bottled up forever.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                          

@omgcheckplease Maybe…

He ignores some chirping that arises in the group chat. They won’t be getting a word out of him. Holster gets all the JackParse angst out of his system and goes back to watching Eric’s channel. Spring semester is a roller coaster in which Bitty pines over Jack, gets used to the idea of Jack leaving, and then ultimately gets his heart broken. His latest video is on graduation.

“…but it’s even harder telling people how important they are to you,” Bitty rasps before making a few announcements and then signing off.

That’s it. Everything. No epilogue and no coda to say “and we lived happily ever after.” Maybe it’s crazy, and maybe Adam has this penchant for obsessing over people and things he shouldn’t. But he’s too invested not to know what happens next. He decides to stalk Eric’s Twitter. Between the usual updates and chirps there’s a jumble of lyrics that tell their own story.

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                               

I’ll give up all I had just to breathe the same air as you

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                              

When I say let’s keep in touch…

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                              

You’re impossible to find.

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                              

This may never start. We may fall apart.  

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                              

It’s just a constant headache.

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                                   

I wanted you bad. I’m so through with that.

Holster knows he’s made so many unnecessary decisions in the last week or so. He feels like the entire summer has been him learning how to exist without Justin attached to his hip. In reality, he was learning every nook and cranny of Eric Bittle. He doesn’t know what to make of it.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                          

You’ve got this new head filled up with smoke.

A few days later, Bitty tweets another song.

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                                  

I’m sitting alone in the café from the way. I guess this is growing up.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                             

@omgcheckplease Breathe in for luck.

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                  

@Holsom This air is blessed.

Adam wonders if Bitty’s fast at googling or just knows his pop punk. It’s probably both.

They go back and forth a few times over the next month, and before he knows it Adam’s back at Samwell.  Bitty’s posted to YouTube thrice since they started tweeting back and forth. His first vlog had been exactly what he expected, a discussion about closure and letting go when things weren’t working. The second was about the Bittle-Phelps jam feud of 2015. The third had been…weird.

“I’m sorry y’all but I’m distracted today. It’s just…sometimes I get so wrapped up in my life that I forget other people care about me. And they have their own problems too y’know? It makes me feel ashamed that I went most of the summer without knowing some important things happened between my teammates.”

“Like what?” Holster finds himself saying out loud.

“I guess you never know who’s got your back until you notice they’ve caught you,” Bitty describes cryptically.

He’s watching TV when Bitty gets dropped off by his mom. He comes in with a large rolling luggage that clamors as its bangs against the front steps.

“Hey,” he says casually, “how was your summer? Did your mom and aunt make-up yet?”

“Not a chance, they’ve been at it since July,” Bitty huffs like he does when he’s about to engage in a full out discussion. “Mama and Aunt Connie are worse than a couple of toddlers when it comes to recipes.”

“Well did Connie apologize for that frumpy comment?”

“I wish,” Eric snorts, “that would make this whole mess go by so damn fa—” Bitty stares at him, baffled.

It takes Holster a few seconds to remember that he’s not supposed to know that. He’s never wanted to crawl into a hole and die as much as he does now.

“How,” Bitty demands.

“Accident?”

“How long?”

Holster flinches. “Two months?”

“How much,” Eric growls.

“All of it,” he confesses.

“Dear Lord,” Bitty lets out an exasperated sigh, rubbing his temple harshly.

“I’m sorry,” Holster starts.

Eric’s laughing mirthlessly, “you’re sorry? You went through my fucking blog, all of it. You could’ve stopped at any time.”

“I know.”

“Then, why didn’t you?”

“Well fuck Eric,” Holster practically shouts back, “I thought of all people you’d understand what it’s like to be in love with someone who doesn’t want you back.”

Bitty stares at him for a solid minute, his eyes narrow and calculating. “Who’re y’all talking about?”

“Ransom,” Holster clarifies hastily.

“Oh,” Bitty’s shoulders relax but his face remains…disappointed. “Right, you’re in love with Ransom.”

“Was,” Holster clarifies. “And I’m sorry I betrayed your privacy. But I’m not sorry that I got to meet you…y’know the one who doesn’t pretend like he’s this chipper angel all the time.”

“You like him huh?” He says with a wry grin.

“Yea,” Holster reaffirms, “it’s probably fucking weird for me to say this but he kinda feels like an old friend y’know?”

“Well,” Bitty bites his lip, sighing deeply, “I made a friend over the summer too. He’s a real sweet boy who likes trashy music like me. He always knew how to make my day.”

He eyes Eric hesitantly. “Do you think that guy could take you for coffee sometime?”

Bitty smiles softly in reply. “I’d love that.”

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                        

@omgcheckplease Put your phone down and come watch Mean Girls.

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                        

@Holsom I’m trying to get French homework done.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                       

@omgcheckplease Boo you whore

Ransom and Holster relearn their dynamic and, true to his word, Holster doesn’t abandon him. If anything, their friendship is stronger than ever now that their captains and Holster’s no longer bothered by Ransom talking about hookups. Meanwhile Bitty wakes him up three mornings a week to grab coffee at Annie’s before class. His wallet doesn’t enjoy the new routine, but he could care less. He finds Bitty talking to him about his family all the time. It’s nice because he feels like he’s being entrusted with something precious and delicate.

“Mama sent that cranberry recipe you were asking about,” Bitty informs him as he comes into the living room one November afternoon.

“Swawesome,” Holster doesn’t bother looking up from his homework. “Oh, and I got that latke recipe from my mom. She said feel free to text her if you have anyway questions.”

“Will do hun,” Bitty sits down on the arm of the sofa and rests his chin on Holster’s shoulder easily. He watches Holster type away like it’s nothing, and they remain in this comfortable silence for a while.

That’s the most interesting thing that Holster’s learned about _them_. They’re two of the loudest members of the team, and Holster admits he’s a bit of an attention whore. But they know each other so well at this point that they don’t have to speak at all. They can just exist, peacefully. One day last week they spent an entire afternoon in silence; only interrupted by the sounds of Bitty making lunch and Holster occasionally flipping between the Food Network and HGTV. They cuddle all the time. Holster thinks it’s fine because they’re both physical people. Plus, the way they fit together is too perfect for words. And when Eric holds him, taking up space like he’s the giant that Adam actually is, he feels safe.

“We’re watching _Crazy Ex-Girlfriend_ , later right?” Holster interrupts after who knows how long.

“Well unless y’all have made plans with the Queen I do believe we are,” Bitty chirps.

“Bey or the Queen of England?”

“Both,” Bitty declares petulantly.  

Adam finds out that Eric can play the guitar in a vlog before finals week. He mentions it much earlier and it comes up a few times over the years. But he inserts a clip from his senior year talent show and it’s so good.

“How dare you, Bits,” Adam storms downstairs, interrupting Dex, Tango and Chowder working on an MP in the kitchen.

“What did I do this time?” He rolls his eyes at Holster’s dramatize.

“How dare you take seven years to share your musical gift with the world,” Holster bangs his hand on the door frame for dramatic effect.

“Do I need to put a parental lock on that channel or something?”

Holster narrows his gazes menacingly, “you wouldn’t dare.”

Bitty saunters up to him, pushing his finger firmly into Holster’s chest, “try me.”

They stare at each other intensely. Holster feels his breath catch in his throat. It feels like he remembering what breathing feels like. But he doesn’t waver; he could gaze into Bitty’s soul forever. And he doesn’t hate the way Eric’s looking back at him—like he lost something that only Adam can see. This goes on for long enough that Dex is shouting at them to cut it out. When they break eye contact, they’re both blushing profusely.

“But seriously,” Holster regains his attention, “you and your guitar, me and my keyboard—we could make beautiful music together.”

Bitty snorts which turns into an all-out laugh, “that is the cheesiest line I have ever heard.”

Adam wants to protest that it wasn’t a line, it wasn’t really…anything other than a supreme love of good music. But he likes the warmth that settles into his chest and decides against ruining the moment.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                                

Exactly 13 days until I see @omgcheckplease again <3

 **Justin Oluransi** @Ranser                                                                                                                                         

@Holsom @omgcheckplease eh-hem. #rude

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                               

@Ranser Bro, you’re sitting next to me.

 **Justin Oluransi** @Ranser                                                                                                                                           

@Holsom So?

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                             

@Ranser You’re impossible

 **Justin Oluransi** @Ranser                                                                                                                                            

@Holsom You’re impossible-er

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom                                                                                                                                          

@Ranser You mean more impossible

 **Justin Oulransi** @Ranser                                                                                                                                              

@Holsom I know what I said

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease                                                                                                                                  

@Holsom @Ranser STOP

Holster knows Bitty’s become a big part of his life. And he knows that the two of them are probably closer than they need to be. But once Eric got over the initial awkwardness of Adam seeing his YouTube channel, it makes life easier for both. They have each other hold them accountable for stupid decisions in the boy department. They keep themselves in check when pinning gets to be too much and they want to act but know they can’t. They talk, vent, and bemoan their feelings over episodes of _30 Rock_ , _Crazy Ex-Girlfriend_ , and _Felicity_ until they’re mostly gone. Holster’s thankful that he doesn’t get a dull ache in his chest when Ransom goes to Winter Screw with someone else. Because he’s got another best friend who’s willing to go stag and dance themselves into oblivion. He doesn’t expect to miss Eric as much as he does over winter break. They’re not even apart for that long since hockey makes them go back to campus before the break’s over.

He doesn’t plan on texting Bitty eighty times a day, or to work on their joint Pinterest board of places they could see over the summer when Holster’s got a month before his new job starts and Bitty’s got nowhere else to be. He doesn’t expect to open Eric’s snaps of him singing along to Beyoncé and to miss him as much as he does.

 _Wanna skype tonight?_ He texts three days before they’re back on campus.

 _Always._ Bitty texts before he receives a call notification. 

“What’s up?”

“I don’t know,” Holster shrugs, “I was thinking that maybe we could practice that cover of Drops of Jupiter?”

Bitty looks at him with this gleam he hasn’t seen in a while, “of course, sweetheart. Let me just grab my guitar.”

“So I was thinking we change every ‘she’ to ‘he’?” Holster suggest, scratching the back of his neck shyly.

“Sounds easy enough,” Eric settles down with his acoustic on his lap a pic in his right hand.

He practices the chords quickly to remember the sequence. Meanwhile, Holster put his laptop in front of his keyboard. “You know we’re going to have to bring these to campus if we’re ever gonna film this right?”

“I know,” Bitty replies absent mindedly. “I’m ready when you are hun.”  

Adam likes the person he is when he’s with Eric. He likes that they have so much more going for them than just hockey. Them hanging out at Annie’s, the living room or Bitty’s room is the best part of his day. They get back to campus and the games start up immediately. They don’t have time for more than shooting each other quick videos, chirping in the locker room, and falling asleep on the bus together while Ransom’s knee deep in studying.

He sneaks in watching Eric’s channel when they’re not together. “The hard part about letting someone in,” Bitty concedes in one of his advice videos, “is learning to let them in all the way. It’s hard when you’ve been hurt before to believe that a new person won’t do the same. You gotta keep holdin’ on, though. Because they could be better than anything you’ve ever hopped for. Gosh that’s sappy…I’m gonna cut this out later.”

Holster wonders why he didn’t. He thinks on some level that he’s meant to see it. It’s the beginning of February when they have enough free time to film their cover video.

“So I was thinking we can set up our chairs and my keyboard so they’re facing each other,” Holster explains as Eric sets up his camera.

“Oh I like that,” Bitty hums, popping a new SD card into his camera, “like we’re singing to each other.”

Holster sets up the chairs and keyboard. Maybe they’ll be a little too close together, but who cares? It’s supposed to be a Valentine’s Day vlog for his followers. He finally broke 60,000 and that’s something worth celebrating. He hears Bitty hit record on the camera.

“Are we doing an intro first or last?” Adam inquires.

“First I suppose,” Eric grabs his guitar from its stand. “Y’all can let me do the talking if you’re nervous, just wave or something when I introduce you.”

Holster nods in understanding.

Eric sits down, taking a deep breath before turning to the camera with a huge grin. “Hey y’all. This isn’t my normal set up but this is a very special video. Some of my adept followers may have noticed that I recently broke 60 thousand followers. So as a big thank you, I’ve listened your requests and pulled out my old guitar. Here to help me along is my good friend Adam. Say hello Adam.”

“Hello Adam,” Holster mimics.

Bitty rolls his eyes, “anyway, this is _Drops of Jupiter_ by Train. We hope y’all enjoy.”

Holster starts the intro, and Bitty comes in the second time through. They arranged the lyrics so they could go back and forth, harmonizing for the last refrains. They had this song down pat; Holster knows the final product was going to be amazing. He isn’t prepared for how swawesome playing with Eric in person is.

There were a handful of moments throughout his life that he knew he’d remember forever. Time would slow to a perfect halt and he’d take time to memorize everything while the moment was still there. It happened the first time he skated; when he taught his little sister to ride her bike without training wheels; when he got drafted to the USHL; and the first time he played a game with Ransom. This is one of those moments. His hands operate on their own while he sweeps every inch of Eric’s face, the way his hands shift perfectly across the neck of his guitar, and the smile that makes his entire face light up brighter than fireworks on the fourth of July.

“Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken?” He finds himself singing.

“Your best friend always sticking up for you,” Bitty giggles for half a second before singing, “even when I know you’re wrong.”

“Can you imagine no first dance, freeze dried romance?” Holster puts more feeling into this verse because now he knows why this moment matters. It was staring him right in the face all along. “Five-hour phone conversation…”

Eric’s breath hitches, “the best soy latte that you ever had, and _me_.”  

They’re at the part where they sing together, and it feels so perfect. Holster feels the way their vocals melt together, thrumming love, acceptance, and understanding through the air. They’re in perfect harmony. Holster doesn’t know why it took him so long to get what his heart already knew. Seven months ago, he met Eric Bittle, the hilarious and honest man underneath all the pies and pleasantries. Five months ago, Bitty met Adam Birkholtz, the unassuming nerd underneath the Ransom and Holster bravado. Then, just as quickly as it started, the song is over. Bitty’s staring at him with this intensity and revelation that tells Holster he’s thinking the same thing.

Adam leans over the keyboard, and Bitty follows suit. They’re kissing and Holster needs choke back a chuckle. Because it’s a perfect kiss, warm, strong, and deep with intimacy. But wouldn’t it be just like them to have a grand profession of love?

Their foreheads touch when they break to catch their breaths. Eric’s panting and Holster can only assume he’s doing the same. He’s too busy staring at those eyes and remembering every time he thought they were too damn beautiful to be real.

“I’ve been waiting forever to do that,” Bitty admits quietly.

“Me too,” Adam confesses, because he had. He’d been waiting so damn long for this moment—when everything that he’d been feeling for Eric would make sense—that he’d forgotten how much he’d wanted.

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom

@omgcheckplease Did you fall from a shooting star?

 **Eric Bittle** @omgcheckplease

@Holsom Did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

 **Adam Birkholtz** @Holsom

@omgcheckplease Always <3

**Author's Note:**

> Fic title - Drops of Jupiter by Train  
> (I am seriously tempted to write this from Bitty's POV later so stay tuned.)
> 
> I'm rarepair, poly trash and accept prompts. [Come say hi on Tumblr.](http://abominableobriens.tumblr.com)


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